


The Spirit and the Damned

by LadyDanger420



Series: Hunters AU [1]
Category: Danny Phantom
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, Dan Phantom Redemption Arc, Gen, Heart Attacks, Strangulation, Trans Dan Phantom, Trans Danny Fenton, Trans Male Character, it's ok people die but they get better
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-22
Updated: 2019-11-22
Packaged: 2021-02-24 15:27:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,396
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21520204
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LadyDanger420/pseuds/LadyDanger420
Summary: The road to Hell is paved with good intentions.Maybe things would've gone differently if Danny had some support after his family died, but nobody seemed to care.
Relationships: Dan Phantom & Angela "Angie" Mikaelsen, Danny Fenton & Tucker Foley & Sam Manson
Series: Hunters AU [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1528325
Comments: 3
Kudos: 20





	1. Chapter 1

**ded** entered  **it's not gay if it's ghosts**

**ded:** has anyone heard from angie recently?

**ded:** i haven't seen her since school got out

**edgar allen hoe** entered  **it's not gay if it's ghosts**

**edgar allen hoe:** nah

**edgar allen hoe:** maybe she's doing angel stuff

**edgar allen hoe:** or visiting family

**ded:** i thot she didn't have any? she never talks abt any family

**edgar allen hoe:** she's mentioned her aunt a few times maybe she's visiting her

**ded:** o ya maybe

**baby shark** entered  **it's not gay if it's ghosts**

**baby shark:** what's happening here

**baby shark:** oh

**ded:** hey tuck

**edgar allen hoe:** hi tucker

**baby shark:** idk i haven't seen her for a few days

**baby shark:** and hi guys

**ded:** huh.

**edgar allen hoe:** weird.

**edgar allen hoe:** my parents are out wanna come watch a movie?

**ded:** hell yeah

**baby shark:** I'm Always A Slut For Movies

**edgar allen hoe:** actually u kno what never mind only danny is allowed

**baby shark:** :(

**edgar allen hoe** left  **it's not gay if it's ghosts**

**ded:** (dw tuck i can sneak u in)

**baby shark:** :)

**ded** left  **it's not gay if it's ghosts**

**baby shark** left  **it's not gay if it's ghosts**

* * *

To those wondering, Angela Mikaelsen, known as Angie to her friends, was currently in Hell. Not in a hyperbolic or figurative manner—although those may also apply to the situation. No, in fact, she was going to speak to her Aunt Lucy, formally known as Lucifer, Queen and Overlady of Hell (and Limbo, but that's a long story for another time.) She carried a beaten-up silver and green thermos, holding it carefully as if she was afraid it would break. Which wasn't far from the truth, honestly. As ordinary as it appeared, the thermos contained quite possibly the third most dangerous being in Hell. Which was why Angie needed to talk to her aunt—she needed somewhere inescapable to put this particular being.

Luckily, Hell was just as alive as Her ruler, and when She felt the young nephilim's need, She directed the girl to just the right place—a cavern that She created just for the situation. It was lit from within with the same ominous red-orange glow that suffused the entire realm, which caused long, threatening shadows wherever you looked. But She changed the cave to a warmer light, less threatening and more like a comforting campfire—not that She'd ever seen one, but Angie had, so She managed it.

The girl landed at the entrance of the cave, folding her wings away and nodding as she entered. This would work perfectly—warding sigils along the edges could offer a second level of security, making this the best place for what she intended.

* * *

When she'd overheard Danny and Tucker talking about someone named Dan, she'd of course been curious. But their expressions made it clear that it wasn't something they looked to discuss, so she left it alone and waited. But after Danny had a panic attack at seeing his fangs grown in with the other two doing their best to calm him down, she had to know. If no other reason than making sure something didn't accidentally trigger him again, though she was still curious.

Tucker told most of the story while Danny and Sam sat out in the living room. She listened quietly, not daring to ask any questions as the story of an alternative Danny who'd tried to kill his entire family came out.

When they told her that he was imprisoned in Clockwork's keep, she knew that there had to be a better solution. Not that she doubted him, but surely there had to be a more humane way to keep him contained.

So, as soon as school let out for break she'd taken off, first to the Keep to talk to the Timekeeper himself, and then—with a bit of cryptic advice and passenger in tow—to Hell.

Because as she'd heard Dan's story, she didn't see the unstoppable monster everyone else seemed to—not that she blamed them, either. But he'd lost  _ everything _ , and that was something she could relate to. Maybe she could help him, and if not, he could be imprisoned in Hell without any possibility of escape.

* * *

Angie took a deep breath, shifting her weight anxiously as she studied the beat-up thermos in her hands. She'd put a ward around the whole of the cavern to prevent anyone except her from entering or leaving, and now all she had to do was open the thermos.

Her wings fluttered and twitched from nervousness—after all the effort put into this, she was suddenly having second thoughts once it came to actually releasing him. Maybe she should've told someone where she went, but the only ones who she could tell would try to stop her. Maybe she should just leave, forget the whole idea. He was dangerous, and she didn't really like dying all that much—which, given the story she'd heard, was more than likely to happen at least once.

"This was a bad idea," she murmured to herself, curling her fingers around the dented metal cylinder in her grasp. "Yeah, this isn't a good idea, I should just-"

A rather large chunk of rock fell from the ceiling, hitting the thermos and knocking it out of her hands. It clattered to the floor, the lid popping off and rolling a few feet away.

For a second, everything was silent. Then the thermos exploded. She shielded herself with her wings, bits of shrapnel pinging off the stone walls and pelting her deceptively strong feathers as green flames swirled through the cavern, butting up against her wards with a bright golden glow before retreating towards the center, coalescing into a tall, caped figure.

She held her breath, staring at the ghost standing completely still before her. He had a good foot of height on her and a powerful build, muscular but not bulky. But she couldn't shake the unnervingly familiar features—upturned nose, heavy brows, hair so white it almost glowed, though in this case it appeared more like colorless flames.

Sharp, glowing red eyes settled on her for a moment before a sudden crushing pain in her chest made her stumble backwards, collapsing back against the wall and staring in shock at the arm reaching into her chest.

_ Oh yeah. Ghost. _

He cocked his head to the side, grinning maliciously down at her.

“You just made the last mistake of your life, angel.”

And then everything went black.

* * *

“Well, that didn’t go as planned.” Angie murmured to herself, floating aimlessly through Hell as she waited for her body to heal itself. Turns out the ghost had manually stopped her heart, which shouldn’t take too long to handle but it was still annoying.

Being in what she’d dubbed her ‘astral form’ took some getting used to, but she’d been getting better at it. She was essentially a ghost now, ironically.

Maybe she should tell someone what she was up to, but that would also probably mean telling them about the whole “can’t die” thing, which would be interesting, to say the least.

A sharp tug in her chest made her wince, alerting her to the fact that her body had finally healed. Relaxing, she let the feeling pull her back into her body, trying to stay as still as possible to avoid alerting the ghost to the fact that she wasn’t dead anymore.

He was standing across the cavern, silhouetted against the golden light of her wards. The nephilim sat there for a moment watching him, before getting to her feet and unfurling her wings. She glanced at her watch, raising an eyebrow at how much time had passed.

"You took me out for a little over half an hour. Interesting."

The ghost turned sharply, staring at her with undisguised shock as she brushed off the dust from her clothes.

"I stopped your heart. You should be  _ dead _ . I  **killed** you." He said, clearly struggling to comprehend what he was experiencing.

Angie shrugged, a small grin twisting her face. "That you did, and I was. But I got better." 

Stepping towards him, she spread her wings to their full span, primaries scratching gouges into the cavern walls on either side. A flick of her wrists summoned balls of golden light in her hands, at which point she cocked her head slightly to the side and smiled.

"So, let's try this again. I'm Angie, and you're in Hell."

A wide, unsettling grin spread across his face, eyes shining with a manic gleam as he barked out a sharp laugh.

“I know, little angel. I’ve been in hell for ten years.”

She scowled in irritation, placing her hands on her hips and glaring at him.

"Look, man, I was trying to do this whole cool ominous thing and you just ruined it. So thanks for that, asshole."

He stepped back, raising a hand to his chest in a mocking way. "Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt. Go ahead, birdie, you can finish your monologue or whatever."

She just glared harder, her wings mantling behind her in a subconscious attempt to look bigger. "Well the moment's gone, I can't. Are you always this much of a douche?"

Dan shrugged, waving one black-gloved hand in a ‘so-so’ motion. “Depends on the day, really.”

Angie sighed, running a hand through her hair before crossing her arms, one hip cocked to the side.

"Okay, so. I brought you here for a reason, but what with you  _ murdering _ me, I got distracted." He rolled his eyes, groaning under his breath and crossing his legs to float like a levitating monk. "I'm actually here to help you."

The ghost stiffened at that, narrowed eyes studying her carefully. "What do you mean,  _ help me _ ?" He asked cautiously.

"I mean I want to help you. I know what happened to you, and-"

" _ Don't _ ."

She ignored him, continuing her speech as she started to pace across the cavern.

"-you shouldn't have had to deal with that on your own. Someone should have been there to support you-"

"Stop  _ talking _ , angel."

"-and even if you didn't get the help you needed when it happened, you can still get help now. I want to give you a chance to do better, because I know who you were and what you could do if you just had a chance! I know what it-"

" _ Shut  _ **_up!_ ** " He roared, throwing her to the ground and pinning her, curling his hands around her throat. "You don't know what I've been through, you don't get to come in here and say everything's alright because it's not! It never will be, because everyone is fucking  _ dead _ and  _ it's my fault! _ "

She clawed at his hands, her wings flailing wildly against both the ground and her assailant as he cut off her breathing. A furious snarl twisted his face as he tightened his grasp, growling down at her.

"So don't pretend to know what kind of a  **monster** I am! Everyone who ever gave a  _ shit _ about me died because of  **me** ! Because I wasn't  _ good enough _ to  _ save _ them!"

Simple animal panic set in, Angie beat against him with her wings, landing blows that could crack a man's spine without any reaction from the ghost.

Until suddenly the weight sitting on her vanished and she could breathe again. Dizzy black spots clouded her vision as she took heavy, gasping breaths, trying to calm her heart while looking to see what had driven him off.

He was standing a few feet away, one hand pressed to his cheek where she could see ectoplasm leaking from a deep cut. The claw on one of her wings was stained a matching green—she must've gotten a lucky blow in.

"My mother was murdered in front of me by a man who wanted to steal my soul." She rasped, standing up with one hand on the wall for balance. She kept her eyes on him the whole time, gingerly probing the bruises darkening around her throat. "I was standing right there and couldn't do anything to save her. She was the only person I had, so don't act like I don't know what loss is like."

He growled at her and she snarled back, curling her hands into claws that glowed brightly with magic energy.

"What are you going to do if I refuse your offer, birdie?  _ Kill me _ ? Then you'll be a murderer too, no better than me." The ghost hissed, summoning up searing green energy around his fists. "Are you sure this is a fight you can even  **win** ?"

She flared her wings,  _ reaching _ and summoning her sword as she bared her teeth at him.

"I don't have to kill you. In fact, I could just leave you here to  _ rot _ . But I'm giving you a chance—stand down, and maybe we can work something out."

In response he launched a ball of green flame towards her, which flared and fizzled out against the shimmering gold shield she summoned.

"So be it then."

* * *

Dan quickly learned that phasing through the sword wasn't an option. It left cuts even when he was intangible which burned in a way he'd never felt before. The little angel never seemed to go for a killing blow with it, though, which he counted as lucky—that weapon could probably end a ghost if it hit their core.

She hadn't managed to make it through their fight unscathed either, but he was impressed that he hadn't managed to kill her again. The feathers on the back sides of her wings were tattered and singed from shielding herself against his ectoblasts, and his attempt at strangling her left dark bruises around her neck. Still, she refused to give up.

He was almost proud, in some strange twisted way.

The tip of her sword rested almost delicately against his chest, pressing on the emblem he still displayed after all these years. He stared down the blade at the disheveled girl glaring up at him with fiery emerald eyes. It had been a long time since he'd been beaten in a fair fight.

"Your choice, Dan. Either we both walk out of here and you agree to my terms, or I end you right here." Angie said quietly. Her hair had started to come loose from its braid, floating around her like a halo when she used her magic, but now it hung in her face like a curtain.

"Fine. You won, birdie, I'll agree to your stupid little plan." He acquiesced, raising his hands in a gesture of surrender.

"And you won't try to hurt anyone in Amity?" She pressed, flicking her primaries closer to his throat.

"You have my word."

At that, she held out her hand to shake and after a moment he took it. Glowing golden lines wrapped around their intertwined hands and he hissed at the burning sensation they left.

"What was that?"

"Insurance. If you go back on your word, you'll regret it."

Finally, she dropped her sword, dispelling both it and the wards around the cave in an instant. "Let's go."

* * *

**guardian angle** entered  **it's not gay if it's ghosts**

**guardian angle:** emergency meeting, my place, after school


	2. Epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The fallout of Angie's actions comes to bear.

“What the fuck were you thinking!” Sam shouted, prodding the taller girl in the chest with a finger, gesturing towards the door of the room. “Why would you ever think that bringing  _ him _ here was a good idea?!”

Tucker stood next to the black-haired teen, arms folded across his chest and staring at the blonde with a mixed look of betrayal and disappointment. Danny wouldn’t even look at her, sitting on the floor with his back against the wall. He watched the door unblinkingly, as if afraid the subject of their conversation would burst in at any moment. 

Angie knew  _ he _ was still sitting on the couch in the living room with Ellie and Valerie. Playing nice, for now.

Her attention returns when Sam lets out a wordless scream, tugging sharply at her hair and stomping one foot in anger. Danny glanced over at her for a moment before returning to his silent vigilance, pulling his knees up closer to his chest.

“We  _ trusted _ you!  **I** trusted you! I thought you were trying to  _ help _ us, but you just went and set a murderer loose.  _ Why _ ? Because you felt  _ bad  _ for him??” Sam continued, either not noticing or ignoring how Angie’s hands curled into fists by her sides during the tirade. “He tried to kill us!”

“Because that could have easily been me!” Angie roared, gesturing violently to the side with one hand. “Because really? I’m not all that different from him! Do you know why I came to Amity Park? Why the only family you’ve ever heard me talk about is my ‘Aunt Lucy’? Because my mother is dead! Because the only family I had for seventeen fucking years was murdered in front of me, and I couldn’t do anything!”

Everything was silent for a moment as the trio stared at her. She had  _ changed _ during her rant--her ears were long and tapered, pupils becoming catlike slits, and fangs seemed to appear in her mouth. An uncanny similarity to the ghost they’d been arguing over, especially with her hair floating around her head in a golden cloud.

Danny had grown deathly still, staring at the nephilim with wide, glowing green eyes. None of them had ever seen her like this--she sometimes looked different during a fight, but now she didn’t even look  _ human _ .

“I’ve killed people too, you know. I didn’t kill the men who murdered my mother, but I helped to take down the group they were part of. So, maybe think about that before you start pointing fingers next time.” The half-angel finished quietly, folding her arms and turning away from them.

There was a minute of stillness before the three left, Sam slamming the door shut behind her.

* * *

Dan wasn’t entirely sure how to interact with the two teens in the living room with him. Valerie gave him a weird feeling in his chest, and he kept finding himself staring at her. Finally, she seemed to have enough of his staring and she spoke up.

“What? Is something wrong with my hair?” She asked, raising a hand to comb through the thick curls.

“Oh, uh n-no, it’s just… It looks nice. You should keep it long.” He replied awkwardly. Talking with his Valerie was usually limited to quips during fights, which made being around this younger Valerie weird.

Ellie, though--he wasn’t entirely sure what to think about her. Really, he wasn’t entirely sure who she  _ was _ . She looked like a much younger version of himself--which sparked off a bit of discomfort, but it was so long ago he managed to push it down without showing anything--but she seemed to be a halfa as well.

She didn’t seem to know anything about him, either, given that as soon as he sat down she moved to sit next to him and started to braid his hair, humming and asking him questions.

“You’re so muscley, can you throw a car? That would be super cool!”

He snorted, a small grin spreading across his face.

“I’m pretty sure  _ you _ can throw a car, kid.”   
“Yeah, but you look really strong so it’s cooler.”

Valerie snorted at that, rolling her eyes affectionately at the younger girl’s antics.

“I’ll take your word for it.”

The sound of a door slamming against the wall startled the three of them into looking up. Sam marched towards the door, dragging Tucker and Danny with her and slamming the apartment door shut behind them.

A sigh from the other side of the hallway pulled their attention to where Angie stood in the doorway, leaning against the door jamb and rubbing her forehead with one hand.

Dan got another weird feeling in his chest, different from the one Valerie gave him, but just as intense.

“Okay. You can stay here with me, I guess. I’ll… I’ll keep trying to talk to them, but for now maybe try to stay out of their way.”

He was pretty sure no matter what she tried, they would never be alright with him being there, but he would let her try.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments keep me hyped to write, please review!!

**Author's Note:**

> Hold on for an epilogue!
> 
> Comments keep me going, please review!!


End file.
